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Jan 6 New Conservative Party Gets Paltry 6% Approval Rating

SEOUL, Jan. 6 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's New Conservative Party for Reform, to be launched this month by defectors from the ruling Saenuri Party, garnered an approval rating of 6 percent this week, a poll showed Friday.

The main opposition Democratic Party remained on top with 40 percent, trailed by its splinter People's Party and the Saenuri Party, both with 12 percent, according to the survey by Gallup Korea.

The minor Justice Party posted 4 percent, while 26 percent of the respondents said they support none of the parties.

The survey was conducted on 1,004 adults on Wednesday and Thursday, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

It marked the first time for Gallup Korea's survey to include the new planned party. Led by around 30 lawmakers who left Saenuri in December after a factional feud with loyalists of President Park Geun-hye, the new party will officially set sail in late January.

Concerning Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, 48 percent disapproved of his performance, while 36 percent approved. He took over after Park was impeached by parliament in December on a range of corruption charges.'